Katalin Gellér: The art colony of Gödöllő 1901-1920 (Gödöllő, 2001)

Jenő György Remsey István Medgyaszay m Ödön Moiret A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ARTISTS' COLONY István Zichy The foundation cannot be tied to an exact date. From the 1890s, young artists gathered at Diósd in Transylvania, in largest numbers in 1897 - almost parallel with the foundation of the Nagybánya colony (1896) - around Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch (Buda, 1863 - Budapest, 1920), who was already known for his historical paintings. They came from Budapest, from Paris, from Vienna to admire the scenery and historical setting of Transylvania and the beauty of the folk costumes. The company finally settled in Gödöllő in the first years of the new century and the mystical and devout atmosphere that had characterized it from its inception evolved there around the artists in search of new principles of living and of new sources of art. They were equally influenced by Nazarene religiosity and Gnosticism, by Tolstoyanism and fin-de-siecle philosophies, as well as the artistic teachings of Ruskin and Morris imbued with a commitment to the bettering of society. The esthetic of the turn of century secessionism had a decisive influence: setting as its goal the re-unification of Art and Life and seeking to embellish everyday objects and to beautify their surroundings. In 1901 the founder, Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch bought a house in Gödöllő, a town famous for its royal mansion. When the weaving workshop was fitted out in 1905, weavers and artists interested in applied arts began to settle here. Leó Belmonte (Stockholm, 1875 - Paris, 1956) and his wife arrived from Paris that year. He had given up his portraitist's career under the influence of Aladár Körösfői-Kriesch and Sándor Nagy and learnt "life-giving" weaving at the Manufacture des Gobelins in Paris. Between 1905 and 1907, two artists largely involved in folklore collection, contributors to Dezső Malonyay's The Art of the Hungarians, arrived in Gödöllő: Árpád Juhász (Zombor, 1863 - Budapest, 1914) and István Zichy (Bábolna, 1879 - Aba, 1951), whose graphic works had already earned him some success. The sculptor Ödön Moiret (Budapest, 1883 - Vienna, 1966) first contacted them in the winter of 1907. Zichy left Nagybánya, Endre Freeskay (Máramarossziget, 1875 - Budapest, 1919) who worked in Gödöllő from 1907 left the Szolnok colony. In 1909 Ervin Raáb (Zólyom, 1874 - Dunaújváros, 1959) and his wife, Mária Bethlen was already living in the "fácánosi villa". The architects István Medgyaszay (Benkó) (Budapest, 1877 - Budapest, 1959) and Ede Thoroczkai-Wigand (Pest, 1970 - Budapest. 1945) did not move to Gödöllő, although they shared many ideas and collaborated on several works with the Gödöllő artists. The other leading protagonist of the colony, Sándor Nagy (Németbánya, 1869 - Gödöllő, 1950) and his wife Laura Kriesch (Budapest, 1879 - Gödöllő, 1966) moved from Veszprém in 1907. Ferenc Sidló (Budapest, 1882 - Budapest, 1954) first worked here in 1904, then with longer or shorter breaks continuously from 1908. Mariska Undi (Springholz) (Győr, 1877 - Budapest, 1959) was the most confident woman artist in the colony. She was strongly influenced by the leaders of the colony, but she did not settle near them. Her sister, Carla Undi (Springholz) (Győr, 1881 Budapest, 1955) worked in the weaving school. The third sister, Jolán (1884-1958) also designed accessories for interiors. One of the pupils, Rezső (Rudolf) Mihály (Müller) (Budapest, 1889 - Balatonalmádi, 1972) only lived in Gödöllő for a few years, while Jenő György Remsey (Békéscsaba, 1885 - Gödöllő, Rezső Mihály Ede Thoroczkai Wigand Ferenc Sidló in his workshop Árpád Juhász and his family